No Proposal for replacing Hippocratic Oath with Charak Shapath: MoS Health

The confirmation regarding this came from the Minister of State, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar.

While responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, where a member inquired about the Government's plans of replacing the age-old Hippocratic Oath, Dr. Pawar informed, "As informed by the National Medical Commission (NMC), there is no proposal of replacement of Hippocratic Oath with Charak Shapath."

The debate concerning Hippocratic Oath Vs Charak Shapath ensued after the National Medical Commission had reportedly propose to replace the centuries-old Hippocratic Oath with the Charakh Shapath.

Also Read: NMC plans to replace Hippocratic Oath with Charak Shapath, Mixed reactions from Doctors

The confirmation regarding this came from the Minutes of NMC discussion with all the medical colleges in India, which was reportedly chaired by Dr. Aruna V Vanikar, the President of the UG Medical Education Board of NMC.

The Minutes of the meeting dated 07.02.2022, which had spread like fire on the social media platforms, mentioned, "No Hippocratic Oath. During white coat ceremony (with parents) the oath will be "Maharshi Charak Shapath" present in NMC website."

Although this change was set to be implemented from February 14, 2022, the proposal faced a huge backlash from the medical fraternity. Doctors across the country expressed their strong opposition to it and some even questioned how the students of modern medicine can take an oath in the name of someone belonging to Indian System of Medicine.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Indian Medical Association had also come forward and raised its voice against the proposal. Terming it to be an attempt at Mixopathy, IMA decided to meet the Union Health Minister to discuss the issue.

However, putting an end to all the debates, the Union Health Ministry itself has now confirmed that there is no such proposal of replacing the centuries-old Hippocratic Oath with Charakh Shapath.

Welcoming the announcement, Dr. J. A Jayalal, the former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), told Medical Dialogues, "We welcome the decision of the Government. Indian Medical Association welcomes that Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar has confirmed that there is no such proposal of replacing the Hippocratic Oath with Charak Shapath. We hope that NMC will not hereafter insist upon such unwanted issues in medical education."

"IMA strongly believes that every medical practitioner should adhere to the medical ethics adopted by WHO Geneva conference and based on the Hippocratic Oath," he added.

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Also Read: Replacing Hippocratic Oath is Unacceptable, attempt of Mixopathy: IMA